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SOME  ^ARLY  / 

JEWISH  CATECHISMS 


An  Address 


Delivered  in  the  Course  of  Public   Lectures 

at  the  Jewish  Theological   Seminary, 

New  York,   March   25,  1909 


BY 


JULIUS   H.  GREENSTONE 


Reprinted  from  the   "Jewish    Exponent" 


Philadelphia,   1909 


Some    Early    Jewish    Catechisms 


Josephus  (Contra  Apion,  II,  16-17)  draws  a  striking 
comparison  between  the  Jewish  system  of  education  and 
the  systems  in  vogue  in  Sparta  and  in  Athens.  The 
Lacedemonians  taught  by  practical  exercise,  not  by 
words,  while  the  Athenians  and  other  Greeks  contented 
themselves  with  making  laws  about  what  was  to  be 
done  or  left  undone,  but  had  no  regard  for  the  exer- 
cise of  the  laws  in  practice.  "But  for  our  legislator,  he 
very  carefully  joined  these  two  methods,  for  he  neither 
left  those  practical  exercises  to  go  on  without'  verbal 
instruction,  nor  did  he  .permit  the  hearing  of  the  law 
to  proceed  without  the  exercise  for  practice ;  but  be- 
ginning immediately  from  the  earliest  infancy  and  the 
appointment  of  every  one's  diet,  he  left  nothing  of 
the  very  smallest  consequence  to  be  done  at  the  pleas- 
ure or  disposal  of  the  person  himself." 

This  characterization  of  the  Jewish  system  of  educa- 
tion is  true,  not  only  for  the  time  of  Josephus,  but  for 
all  subsequent  ages  of  Jewish  history.  The  happy  com- 
bination of  precept  and  example,  of  word  and  deed  in 
the  education  of  the  young  was  the  guiding  motive  of 
Jewish  parents  and  teachers  of  all  times.  Even  the 
few  pedagogic  principles  mentioned  in  the  Bible  have 
this  double  method  in  view.  One  should  not  only  ob- 
serve the  Passover  in  all  its  details,  but  also  relate  to 
his  child  the  reason  for  the  observance.  The  prophets 
were  not  satisfied  m.erely  with  preaching  and  teaching, 
they  also  illustrated  their  themes  by  means  of  concrete 
examples.  The  study  of  the  law  was  important  only 
in  so  far  as  it  led  to  the  correct  practice  of  the  law,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  ignorant  man  cotdd  not  be  relied 
upon  to  perform  his  obligations  properly. 

Of  course,  Jewish  education,  as  well  as  Jewish  life 
generally,  was  mainly  religious,  and  the  training  of  the 
Jewish  child  had  in  view  the  knowledge  and  practice 
of  the  Jewish  religion.  When  the  bov  was  initiated 
into  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  the  congratulations  of- 
fered to  the  parents  on  that  occasion  included  the  wish 
that  thev  might  succeed  in  bringing  him  up  to  the  studv 
and  the  practice  of  religion,  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Torah 
and  the  performance  of  good  deeds.  Since  married 
life  was  always  regarded  by  Tews  as  the  onlv  normal 
and  natural  life  for  man.  the  third  element  in  the  bless- 
ing included  the  wish  that  the  parents  might  see  their 
child  happilv  married.  To  see  their  child  grow  uv  in 
Torah  and  ATaasim  To^Mm  (good  deeds')  was  the  arme 
of  a  parent's  desire,  and  towards  thi"?  end  all  education 
tended.  As  soon  as  the  child  was  able  to  speak,  he  wns 
taueht  to  recite  the  Shema  and  other  passages  of  the 
Bible,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  walk  he  was  taken 
to  synagogue,  so  that  he  might  witness  the  services 
and  partiripate  in  the  responses.  As  the  child  grew 
older  and  began  to  attend  the   primary  school,  he  was 


^'i'i 


StacR 

Annex 

at   the   same   time   trained   in  the   actual  practice  of  re-  J    . 

hgious  observances.     He  was  to  carry  the  prayer-book  )  j  Li 

after  his  father  to  synagogue ;  on  Saturday  night  he 
was  sent  home  to  announce  to  his  mother  that  the  Sab- 
bath was  over ;  he  was  encouraged  to  take  part  in  the 
festivities  attendant  upon  the  festival  of  "The  Rejoicing 
of  the  Law ;"  and  on  the  eve  of  Passover  he  was  as  im- 
portant a  member  of  the  assembly  as  any  adult,  so  that 
special  attractions  were  provided  for  him  to  in(luce  him 
to  stay  awake  until  the  Seder  was  over.  And  as  the 
child  grew  older  and  his  knowledge  of  the  Torah  in^ 
creased,  his  duties  and  obligations  correspondingly  mul- 
tiplied. He  was  constantly  made  to  feel  the  relation 
that  existed  between  his  studies  and  his  practice  of  the 
religion  of  his  fathers,  and  this  feeling  was  nurtured 
and  fostered  by  both  parent  and  teacher.  It  was  the 
recognition  of  the  great  truth  that  character  is  merely 
a  'bundle  of  habits,  that  learning  is  valuable  only  in  so  far 
as  it  influenced  conduct,  and  on  the  other  hand  that  the 
ignorant  cannot  be  truly  pious,  that  made  the  Jewish 
system  of  education  the  most  effective,  accomplishing 
in  the  fullest  sense  the  task  it  had  set  for  itself. 

This  double  aspect  of  Jewish  education,  which  ap- 
pears to  have  been  prominent  in  the  minds  of  our  sages 
and  teachers  from  earliest  antiquity,  naturally  preclud- 
ed the  use  of  any  text-book,  specifically  designed  for 
the  study  of  religion.  Guide-books  are  of  doubtful  bene- 
fit even  to  tourists,  but  the  native  will  scorn  the  idea 
of  a  guide-book  to  his  village  or  hamlet.  What  need 
could  the  Jewish  youth,  brought  up  in  an  atmosphere 
that  was  thoroughly  religious,  trained  to  regard  God  as 
ever  near  him,  guarding  and  guiding  him  on  every  foot- 
step, what  need  could  he  have  for  a  book  on  the  tenets 
of  his  religion?  The  proselyte  may  need  one,  but  pro- 
selytism  was  a  rare  occurrence  among  Jews,  and  no 
special  provision  was  made  for  them,  except  perhaps 
in  earlier  times,  if  we  assume  thaf  the  Didache  is  of 
Jewish  origin.  The  Jewish  youth,  born  of  Jewish  pa- 
rents, growing  up  in  the  midst  of  a  Jewish  community, 
receiving  practical  religious'  training,  which  made  be- 
lief's and  otservances  co-extensive  with  life,  living 
amidst  surroundings  where  creeds  are  lived  rather  than 
memorized,  where  dogmas  are  expressed  in  nursery 
rhymes  and  fairy-tales,  rather  than  in  formulae,  the  Jew- 
ish youth  brought  up  under  such  a  system  never  felt 
the  need  for  a  manual  of  religious  instruction.  Nor  was 
there  any  occasion  for  such  a  text-book  in  order  to 
guard  the  youth  against  the  attractions  that  other  creeds 
mis^ht  ofTer  to  him.  Hellenistic  philosophy  never  gain- 
ed a  foothold  in  Judea,  and  the  apologetic  literature  it 
called  forth  in  Alexandria  had  little  influence  on  fhe 
bulk  of  the  Jewish  commtmity,  who  would  have  spurned 
the  very  attempt  at  a  reconciliation  between  Platonism 
and  Mosaism,  because  it  would  have  suggested  a  com- 
parison of  the  two.  The  Christianitv  of  the  Middle 
A?es  was  unknown  to  the  maioritv  of  Tews  because  of 
their  abject  position  in  the  world,, and  it  would  have  had 

3 


2117601 


little  attraction  for  them  even  if  it  were  known  to  them. 
Jewish  separatism,  cautiously  guarded  by  the  practice 
of  Judaism,  made  any  incursions  of  other  creeds  next 
to  impossible,  especially  to  the  child  who  was  carefully 
watched  against  any  contact  with  the  outside  world. 
Text-books,  explaining  religious  tenets  and  dogmas  by 
themselves  or  in  comparison  with  other  religions,  were 
thus  unnecessary  and  hence  unknown  in  Jewish  liter- 
ature until  very  recent  times. 

The  Bible  appears  to  have  been  the  only  text-book 
used  in  elementary  instruction  among  the  Jews.  Just  as 
the  Manna  tasted  like  milk  to  infants  and  like  beef  to 
adults,  so  was  the  Bible  with  its  simple  narratives  and 
pure  diction  adapted  tO!  the  needs  of  young  children, 
while  the  Halachists  and  Agadists,  philosophers  and 
Kabbalists  found  in  the  same  book  the  sources  for  their 
teachings  and  speculations.  Putting  it  symbolically,  the 
rabbis  said  that  the  divine  utterance  at  Mount  Sinai  was 
adapted  to  the  intelligence  and  comprehension  of  all  who 
witnessed  the  revelation,  men,  women  and  children. 
From  the  Bible,  the  child  first  learned  the  mechanical 
reading  of  the  Hebrew  language,  the  translation  and 
idiom,  when  the  language  was  no  more  the  vernacular, 
the  laws  of  life  and  conduct,  the  history  of  his  people — 
all  that  was  necessary  for  the  youth  to  do  and  to  know, 
he  found  in  this  wonderful  book.  Dogma  and  creed, 
not  prominent  in  the  Biblical  writings,  were  in  conse- 
quence not  included  in  the  curriculum  of  the  Jewish 
child.  These  sank  into  his  consciousness  imperceptibly,, 
without  catechetic  instruction.  The  main  object  of  the 
teacher  was  to  make  the  word  of  God,  as  found  in  the 
Bible,  clear  and  intelligible  to  the  child's  mind.  This 
in  itself  was  not  a  very  easy  task,  although  the  diffi- 
culty was  much  lessened  with  the  appearance  of  Rashi's 
commentaries.  The  clearness,  brevity  and  soulfulness 
of  these  commentaries  made  them  at  once  popular  with 
both  teacher  and  pupil,  and  for  many  centuries  thev  re- 
mained the  standard  commentaries  used  in  Jewish 
schools.  The  use  which  Rashi  makes  of  Midrash  and 
Halachah  in  his  commentaries  helped  to  lessen  the  rnon- 
otony  of  the  study  of  one  book,  besides  preparing  the 
child  for  the  higher  studies  which  he  was  soon  to  pur- 
sue. For  the  Jewish  youth  was  introduced  to  the 
study  of  the  Talmud  quite  early  in  life,  and  from  tliat 
time  on  this  study  occupied  all  his  time  and  energies  to 
the  end  of  his  days.  To  teach  religion  in  the  abstract 
was  unknown  in  the  Jewish  Cheder.  where  the  whole 
education  was  religious,  the  Bilile  and  its  commentaries 
and  the  Talmud  and  its  literature  supplying  all  the 
needs  of  the  early  education-  of  the  Jewish  child.  It 
was  only  after  the  Jew  forced  his  way  into  the  outer 
world,  when  his  interests  became  more  diverse  and 
more  profane^  when  simple  economy  con:pc]lod  him  to 
devote  only  a  small  fraction  of  time  to  the  religious 
training  of  his  children,  that  the  need  aroso  for  system- 
atic manuals  of  religion,  and  that  need  was  plentifully 
supplied. 


It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  now  the  nature  of  the 
Jewish  catechisms  that  appeared  in  Germany  and  else- 
where since  the  period  of  Mendelssohn.  I  wish  now  to 
treat  of  two  hooks  written  previous  to  that  Lime  and 
designed  especially  for  the  use  of  children.  These  two 
books' present  many  interesting  points,  reilecting  the  in- 
tellectual and  social  status  of  the  Jews  during  the  time 
when  they  were  written.  They  are  not  taken  as  types 
of  Jewish  catechisms,  for  there  are  hut  few  others  that 
may  be  classed  as  such.  They  are  almost  unitiue,  and 
although  both  were  exceedingly  popular  for  many  cen- 
turies, having  gone  through  many  editions,  they  found 
but  few  imitators.  They  were  both  intended  as  man- 
uals for  children  and  both  failed  in  their  purpose,  al- 
though both  were  great  favorites  with  adults.  These 
books  are  the  Hinuch  (Training),  by  Aaron  Halevi,  of 
Barcelona  (c.  1302),  and  the  Lekah  Tob  (Good  Instruc- 
tion), by  Abraham  Jagel  (c.  1595).  These  two  hooks, 
having  the  same  purpose  in  view  and  sharing  the  same 
fate,  are  still  distinct  from  each  other  in  nature,  de- 
sign and  the  attitude  of  their  respective  authors  towards 
Judaism.  The  former  is  written  in  an  unaffected,  truly 
Jewish  spirit,  making  the  laws  of  life  a»d  conduct  the 
basis  of  instruction  ;  while  the  latter  is  obviously  the  re- 
sult of  outside  influence,  based  on  Christian  models  and 
making  creed  and  dogma  most  conspicuous.  The  for- 
mer is  an  adaptation  of  tooks  made  for  adult  Jews 
for  the  use  of  the  young,  the  latter  is  an  adaptation  of 
books  made  for  Christian  children  for  the  use  of  Jewish 
children. 

Rabbi  Simlai's  assertion  that  the  Torah  contains  613 
commandments,  of  which  365  are  mandatory  and  248  are 
prohibitive,  was  apparently  a  repetition  of  a  tradition 
current  among  Jews  from  ancient  times.  Many  schol- 
ars have  subsequently  endeavored  to  establsh  the  truth 
of  this  statement  by  actually  enumerating  the  613  com- 
mandments and  finding  the  Biblical  basis  for  each  of 
them.  Simon  Kahira  in  his  Halachot  Gedolot  was  the 
first  to  undertake  this  task,  and  he  had  a  host  of  follow- 
ers among  the  devotees  of  alli  tranches  of  Jewish  learn- 
ing. The  codifiers  naturally  desired  to  establish  such 
a  convenient  catalogue  of  all  the  Biblical  laws,  while  the 
liturgists  and  poets  found  in  this  a  fertile  theme  for 
their  compositions,  and  no  lessi  than  twelve  liturgic 
poems  (Azharot)  based  on  this  tradition,  some  of  them 
being  used  in  the  service,  are  known  to  exist.  Jellinek 
enumerates  144  works  dealing  with  the  subject  of  the 
613  commandments  in  a  more  or  less  elaborate  form 
(Kontres  Taryag,  Vienna,  1878),  to  which  should  be 
added  twenty-six  more  added  in  one  of  his  later  works 
(Kontres  Harambam,  Vienna,  1878).  The  most  system- 
atic arrangement  of  the  commandments  is  that  made  by 
Maimonides  in  his  Sefer  ha-Mizwot,  which  in  its  turn, 
became  the  basis  for  many  commentaries,  the  most  no- 
table of  which  is  that  of  Nachnianides. 

An  obscure  and  humble  teacher  of  Barcelona,  living  at 
the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  conceived  the  idea  of 


making-  the  613  commandments,  properly  explained  and 
elucidated,  the  basis  for  the  first  text-book  of  Jewish 
religious  instruction  for  the  young.  Practised  in  the  art 
of  teaching  and  possessed  of  genuine  piety  and  broad 
sympathies,  Aaron  Halevi  was  test  fitted  to  execute  such 
a  plan.  He  does  not  tire  in  disclaiming  all  originality  for 
his  work,  except  in  its  form  of  presentation.  In  his 
modesty,  the  author  did  not  even  think  it  necessary  to 
affix  his  full  name  to  his  book,  and  it  was  only  recently 
that  the  identity  of  the  author  was  established  by  a 
German  Jewish  scholar  (D.  Rosin,  Ein  Compendium  der 
juedischen  Gesetzeskunde  aus  dem  vierzehnten  Jahr- 
hundert,  Breslau.  1871).  The  purpose  of  the  book  is 
given  in  the  author's  prefatory  remarks.  In  order  to 
observe  the  various  commandments,  our  author  savs.  it 
is,  of  course,  necessary  that  one  should  first  know  them. 
Hence  it  was  established  by  our  sages  that  a  portion  of 
the  Torah  should  be  read  in  the  synagogue  everv  week, 
so  that  in  many  communities  the  whole  of  the  Torah  is 
completed  every  year.  Since,  however,  these  613  com- 
mandments are  scattered  throughout  the  Pentateuch 
amidst  other  matter,  it  is  likely  that  some  of  them  will 
be  passed  unnoticed.  "Therefore,  have  I,  the  humblest 
of  my  tribe,  the  disciple  of  disciples,  a  Jew  from  the 
tribe  of  Levi  of  Barcelona,  seen  fit^  to  describe  the  com- 
mandments in  the  order  of  the  weekly  sections  of  the 
Torah,  so  that  my  son,  the  youth,  and  his  companions, 
the  children,  might  be  aroused  to  examine  the  number 
of  the  commandments  after  they  studied  the  weekly 
section  of  the  Torah."  This  purpose  the  author  con- 
stantly had  in  view  and  frequently  alluded  to  it  in  the 
course  of  the  book.  The  simple  language  employed  and 
the  methodic  presentation,  as  well  as  the  religious  fer- 
vor which  pervades  the  whole  book,  make  it  an  excel- 
lent compendium  of  Jewish  practice  and  belief. 

The  author  adopted  the  following  system :  The 
name  of  the  section  of  the  Torah  is  first  given 
and  the  number  of  positive  and  negative  commandments 
found  therein  indicated  in  the  superscription.  Every 
commandment  is  then  treated  in  the  following  fourfold 
manner:  (i)  The  commandment  is  stated  and  the 
Biblical  verse  upon  which  it  is  based  is  quoted.  (2) 
The  reason  for  the  commandment  is  given.  (3)  The 
details  of  the  law,  as  elaborated  bv  the  rabbis,  are 
enumerated.  In  this  our  author  relies  mainly  on  the 
works  of  Maimonides  and  other  codifiers.  (4)  The 
application  of  the  law  to  time,  place  and  per.son,  as  well 
as  the  punishment  for  its  violation,  are  given.  In  giv- 
ing the  reasons  for  the  commandments,  the  ai^thor  stu- 
diously avoids  all  metaphysical  discussion  and  alwavs 
endeavors  to  find  an  ethical  or  psychological  reason  for 
the  law.  His  strong  moral  sense  and  his  deep  insight 
into  the  workings  of  the  human  mind,  as  displayed  in 
the  reasons  which  he  assigns  to  the  various  laws,  were 
probably  the  main  elements  that  made  for  the  popularity 
of  the  book.  In  section  XX,  endeavoring  to  explain  the 
prohibition  against  the  breaking  of  a  bone  in  the  paschal 

6 


lamb,  the  author  enters  into  a  lengthy  disquisition  on  the 
influence  of  mechanical,  acts  on  human  conduct.  He 
wishes  here  to  reply  to  an  imaginary  objection  of  his 
son  to  the  necessity  of  so  many  symbols  and  ceremonies 
in  connection  with  the  Passover  celebration.  Such  a 
question,  he  says,  is  apt  to  occur  to  a  youth  who  has  not 
had  sufficient  experience  in  life.  Man  is  influenced  by 
his  deeds.  His  feelings  and  even  his  iiidgment  fre- 
quently follow  the  tendency  of  his  acts.  Even  the  most 
righteous  man,  if  he  be  compelled  to  engage  constantly 
and  for  a  long  period  in  evil  deeds,  will  in  the  course 
of  time  become  bad.  Therefore,  it  is  necessary,  that 
we  engage  in  deeds  that  tend  toward  the  fear  of  God 
and  the  observance  of  His  laws,  so  that  our  thoughts 
and  emotions  become  pure  and  godly.  In  a  similar  man- 
ner, the  prohibition  against  using  iron  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  altar  is  explained  (section  XL).  Iron  is 
symbolic  of  destruction  and  bloodshed,  and  it  would 
have  a  bad  effect  on  our  morals  if  we  were  to  use  such 
a  metal  in  the  construction  of  the  altar  which  was  to 
be  the  symbol  of  forgiveness,  peace  and  blessing.  The 
same  reason  is  assigned  to  many  other  ceremonial  laws 
(section  CCLXXXV). 

The  extreme  modesty  of  the  author  is  evident  in  many 
passages  of  the  book.  In  explaining  the  law  pertaining 
to  the  wearing  of  fringes  on  garments,  the  author  says : 
"If  you  will  examine  this,  my  son,  and  it  will  appear  to 
you  proper  to  contradict  my  views  in  this  or  in  any 
other  place,  do  not  hesitate  to  do  so  because  I  am  your 
father  and  teacher.  Such  destroying,  I  call  building 
up."  Modern  pedagogues  will  no  doubt  argue  that  a 
teacher  must  be  positive  in  his  assertions,  should  never 
hesitate  in  presenting  an  opinion,  must  not  arouse  in 
the  minds  of  his  pupils  the  slightest  suspicion  that  he  is 
uncertain  about  any  of  his  statements.  Such  a  state- 
ment, as  quoted  above,  may  be  condemned  by  modern 
educators  as  unpedagogic.  Similar  utterances  are  found 
in  several  other  places,  where  the  author  feels  his  in- 
ability to  give  an  adequate  and  satisfactory  reason  for 
certain  laws  (e.  g.  section  CXXVI,  leaven  in  sacrifice; 
section  CLII,  impurity).  We  may  even  question  the 
propriety  of  the  whole  system  for  elementary  instruction. 
The  subjects  treated  are  too  many  and  too  detailed  for 
youthful  comprehension.  The  author  sometimes  for- 
gets the  audience  that  he  is  addressing  and  enters  upon 
discussions  that  will  appear  foreign  and  unnecessary 
to  the  uninitiated  youth.  The  enterprise  of  basing  an 
exposition  of  Judaism  on  the  613  commandments,  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  rigorous  plan,  which  will  inevitably  be- 
come labored  and  involved  when  carried  out  in  detail, 
will  appear  to  us  as  unnatural  and  ill  adapted  to  the 
purpose  in  view.  These  and  many  other^  objections 
may  be  raised  against  the  usefulness  of  a  book  like  the 
Hinuch  for  primary  religious  instruction.  We  must 
not  forget,  however,  the  great  difference  in  the  status 
of  Jewish  education  between  the  time  of  our  author  and 
our  present  period.     When  the  main  and  only  occupa- 

7 


tion  of  the  child  was  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  Tal- 
mud, a  youth  of  twelve  or  thirteen  was  sufficiently  ad- 
vanced in  his  studies  to  appreciate  fully  a  book  like  the 
Hinuch.  The  child  was  initiated  into  the  labyrinth  of 
Talmudic  discussion  when  he  reached  the  age  of  seven. 
At  that  tender  age,  he  was  already  made  acquainted 
with  the  dialectics  of  the  rabbis,  the  detailed  discussion 
of  laws  and  ordinances  that  would  appear  m.ost  abstruse 
to  a  modern  youth,  he  already  felt  the  yoke  of  the 
Torah  with  all  its  weight.  It  would  be  refreshing  to 
him  to  turn  to  a  book  like  the  Hinuch.  where  he  could 
find  the  same  laws  presented  simply  and  concisely,  flav- 
ored with  that  spiritual  condiment  characteristic  of  the 
book  and  its  author,  where  he  could  find  moral  and 
psychological  reasons  for  laws,  instead  of  the  positive 
"so  it  is  written,"  to  wdiich  he  was  accustomed,  where 
dogma,  creed  and  custom'  are  imbued  with  a  freshness 
and  simplicity  that  appeal  and  arrest  the  attention. 
What  would  be  regarded  as  incomprehensible  to  a  mod- 
ern Jewish  youth,  seemed  plain  and  attractive  to  the 
youth  who  once  learned  "to  swim  in  the  sea  of  the 
Talmi-d." 

It  is  true,  however,  that  the  book,  although  very  popu- 
lar, was  not  used  as  a  text-book  for  children,  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  intended.  This  was  not  because 
of  any  fault  in  the  construction  or  presentation  of  the 
subject  matter,  but  rather  because  there  was  no  call  for 
such  a  book  in  the  method  then  pursued  in  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  young.  Adults  studied  it  with  avidity,  es- 
pecially such  as  did  not  have  the  opportunity  of  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  Talmud  and  the  codes.  It 
has  teen  translated  into  several  European  languages, 
and  only  recently  a  learned  rabbi  composed  an  extensive 
commentary  on  the  book,  from  the  Halachic  standpoint, 
in  three  folio  volumes  (Minhat  Hinuch.  by  Joseph  b. 
Moses  of  Tarnopol,  Lemberg,  1869).  It  appears  also 
that  societies  and  circles  existed  in  various  communities 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  studying:  this  work.  They 
wouM  read  every  week  the  section  based  on  the  weeklv 
portion  of  the  law,  and  conclude  the  book  at  the  end  of 
the  year  amidst  great  rejoicing  and  merr\-making.  In 
my  copy  of  the  Hinuch,  Venice.  1600.  there  is  pasted  in 
a  manuscript  copy  of  a  poem,*  which  the  society  Reruche- 
El  of  Ferrara.  who  studied  the  book  every  Sabbath, 
sang  at  its  conclusion  on  Elul  27,  1828  (^5588).  The 
testimony  borne  by  this  poem  to  the  value  attached  to 
this  book  by  the  Jews  of  that  tinie,  fullv  justifies  all 
claims  made  for  it  bv  modern  lewish  scholars. 

Throughout  the  dark  Middle  Ages,  there  was  no 
Christian  land  where  the  Jews  enjoyed  so  much  free- 
dom as  in  Italy,  the  seat  of  Catholicism.  We  need  not 
enter  here  on  a  discussion  as  to  the  reason  for  this  ap- 
f)arentlv  peculiar  phenomenon.  Suffice  it  to  sav,  that 
the  spirit  of  liberalism  that  always  pervaded  Italv  also 
aflfectcfl  the  attitude  of  the  Italian  nobleman,  poet  and 
«;choIar  triward  the  Jew.  WHiile  the  clergy  ptit  forth 
every   effort    to   persecute   the    Jews   and    restrict   their 

•  GIvcD    III   Appendix,   p.    14. 

8 


rights,  they  were  often  thwarted  by  the  cynical  poets  and 
the  more  sagacious  nobles,  wlvo  looked  upon  the  Jews 
as  a  useful  element  m  the  population.  This  was  es- 
pecially true  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries, 
when  the  spirit  of  the  renaissance  held  sway  over  all 
Italy.  While  the  Jews  of  Germany  and  other  lands 
were  kept  in  constant  humiliation  and  subjection,  so  as 
to  make  them  look  upon  the  outside  world  with'  sus- 
picion and  disgust,  finding  peace  and  rest  only  when 
completely  isolated  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  not  know- 
ing nor  wishing  to  know  what  was  going  on  outside  of 
the  Ghetto  walls,  the  Jews  of  Italy,  although  not  entire- 
ly free  from  persecution,  still  kej)t  in  close  touch  with 
the  work  and  progress  of  their  neighbors  and  took  part 
in  the  great  revival  of  letters  that  had  its  inception  in 
that  country.  The  Jews  of  Italy  did  not  produce  great 
men  or  original  thinkers  as  did  the  Jews  of  Spain, 
France  and  Germany.  To  use  the  phrase  of  one  of  our 
modern  historians  (Guedemann),  the  Jews  of  Italy  serv- 
ed as  the  middlemen  in  the  domain  of  science  and  learn- 
ing as  they  did  in  the  realm  of  commerce.  They  made 
the  philosophy  and  the  wisdom  of  the  East  accessible  to 
the  Western  world  by  means  of  their  numerous  trans- 
lations of  Hebrew  and  Arabic  works  into  Latin.  It  is 
due  to  a  great  extent  to  the  efforts  of  Italian  Jews  that 
the  nations  of  Europe  awoke  from  their  long  sleep  of 
ignorance  and  superstition  to  enjoy  the  light  of  wisdom 
\ishered  in  by  the  period  of  the  renaissance.  Always 
alert,  always  progressive,  always  ready  to  assimilate  the 
best  and  noblest  that  they  found  among  their  neigh- 
bors, the  Jews  of  Italy  form  a  distinct  and  imique  group 
in  the  history  of  the  Jews  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

This  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  Italian  Jews  had 
its  disadvantages  as  well  as  its  advantages.  The  con- 
stant contact  in  which  they  were  brought  with  the  Chris- 
tian community,  often  made  them  forget  the  tremen- 
dous difference  that  existed  between  their  culture  and 
the  culture  which  they  were  invited  to  embrace  and  to 
confuse  the  needs  of  the  outside  community  with  their 
own  needs.  This  is  a  natural  phenomenon,  with  which 
we  meet  throughout  the  course  of  Jewish  history,  be- 
ginning with  the  Alexandrian  period  to  the  golden  age 
in  Spain  down  to  modern  times  in  Germany  and  Amer- 
ica. Not  satisfied  with  participating  in  the  works  and 
efforts  of  the  world  around  him,  the  Jew  is  an.xious  to 
introduce  these  works  in  his  own  immediate  sphere,  re- 
gardless whether  these  will  conduce  to  the  welfare  and 
improvement  of  those  for  whom  he  intends  them.  The 
fact  that  a  certain  mode  of  procedure  was  advisable  and 
perhaps  even  necessary  for  the  Hellenic  neo-Platonists, 
or  for  the  Arabic  Mutazillists  or  for  the  German  Prot- 
estants, does  not  make  it  feasit-le  or  practicable  for 
Jews,  reared  on  an  entirely  different  culture  and  satur- 
ated with  entirely  different  ideals.  Such  tendencies, 
however,  are  perfectly  natural  and  to  be  expected  in  a 
nation  that  has  lived  in  Golus  so  long  and  that  is  so  alert 
and  progressive  as  the  Jews  have  always  been.     Tran- 


sient  and  ephemeral  these  movements  will  always  be, 
the  real  Jewish  spirit  will  sooner  or  later  assert  itself 
and  assign  the  productions  of  such  movements,  great 
and  important  though  they  be,  to  their  proper  position 
in  the  vast  treasure-house  of  Jewish  culture,  but  they 
are  natural  under  the  circumstances  and  will  constantly 
reappear,  as  long  as  the  Jew  is  a  wanderer  in  lands  that 
are  not  his  own,  coming  in  contact  with  civilizations  that 
are  not  his  own.  We  may  regret  the  waste  of  effort, 
which  might  have  been  productive  of  much  greater  good 
if  directed  in  the  proper  Jewish  channels,  but  we  are 
unable  to  prevent  it.  We  might  speculate  on  the  sub- 
ject whether  from  the  Jewish  standpoint,  Philo  and 
Maimonides  would  have  written  better  philosophy, 
Emanuel  of  Rome  would  have  composed  greater  poems 
and  some  of  our  modern  artists  would  have  produced 
better  paintings  if  they  had  remained  uninfluenced  by 
outside  environment,  but  we  cannot  change  the  fact 
nor  can  we  prevent  its  repetition. 

The  rise  of  the  Protestant  Reformation  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century,  by  its  fundamental  prin- 
ciples, compelled  its  votaries  to  begin  a  strenuous  cam- 
paign for  elementary  religious  education.  They  felt 
that  since  man  was  made  responsible  for  his  own  faith, 
the  source  of  which  is  placed  in  the  Bible,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  every  one  should  learn  to  iinderstand  the  Bible 
and  the  relio^ion  based  upon  it.  Hence,  Luther  wrote  his 
first  catechism  in  1520.  and  followed  it  up  with  several 
others,  which  were  adopted  by  his  followers  and  formed 
the  models  for  all  later  Protestant  works  of  that  na- 
ture. The  Catholics,  who  had  paid  no  attention  to 
primary  religious  instruction,  were  aroused  to  activity 
by  the  appearance  of  the  Protestant  catechisms,  suspect- 
ing that  these  would  be  the  most  effective  means  for 
propagating  the  opposition  to  the  dominant  church.  The 
Council  of  Trent  then  authorized  the  publication  in  1566 
of  a  Catholic  catechism,  which  was  prepared  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Archbishop  of  Milan.  This,  however, 
was  more  of  a  systematic  presentation  of  Catholic  dogma 
than  a  text-book  for  children.  Under  the  direction  of 
King  Ferdinand  V.,  Peter  Canisius  prepared  his  larger 
catechism  in  1554  and  a  smaller  one  in  1566.  A  num- 
ber of  other  catechisms  followed,  almost  all  in  the  usual 
form  of  question  and  answer,  as  the  demand  for  them 
increased  with  the  growth  of  the  influence  of  Protes- 
tantism.^ 

This  movement,  simultaneously  begun  by  the  two  op- 
posing factions  in  Christendom,  aroused  an  Italian  Jew 
to  prepare  a  similar  work  for  the  Jewish  youth.  Abra- 
ham Jagel,  living  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  has 
the  distinction  of  being  the  author  of  the  first  Jewish 
catechism,  written  in  the  usual  catechetic  form.  As 
has  been  shown  by  various  writers  (D.  Oppenheim  in 
Ilebraische  Bibliographie,  \'TT.,  19;  Maybaum.  Abraham 
Jagel's  Katcchismus  I.ekach-Tob,  Berlin,  1892.  etc.). 
lagel  was  familar  with  both  catechisms  of  Canisius  and 
modelled  his  book,  I.ekali  Tob,  directly  after  the  works 

10 


of  the  Catholic  author.  In  his  introduction,  Ja^cl  says 
that  in  condensing  all  the  laws  and  beliefs  of  Judaism 
in  a  few  principles,  simply  put  and  clearly  presented  so 
that  the  avera<;e  child  might  understand  them,  he  mere- 
ly followed  the  precedent  set  by  the  prophets,  who  also 
endeavored  to  condense  the  whole  Torah  in  a  few  or 
even  in  one  maxim.  He  disclaims  all  originality  for  his 
work,  and  expressly  says  that  he  gathered  the  several 
opinions  of  the  sages  that  preceded  him  and  put  them 
in  a  small  book,  which  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
children,  who  should  study  it  an(t  know  it  from  cover 
to  cover. 

The  book  itself  begins  with  the  first  conversation  be- 
tween the  teacher  and  his  pupil.  The  pupil  greets  the 
teacher  on  entering,  and  being  asked  who  he  was,  he 
says  that  he  is  a,  Jew  bora  in  the  image  of  God.  The 
discussion  at  once  turns  on  the  point  of  the  purpose  of 
existence.  The  pupil  declares  that  he  was  born  to 
serve  God  without  the  expectation  of  any  reward,  al- 
though the  reward  is  sure  to  come  in  the  next  world. 
To  the  rabbi's  question  as  to  the  means  by  which  we 
might  expect  to  inherit  the  world  to  come,  the  pupil  is 
made  to  declare  the  three  cardinal  principles  of  religion 
— faith  in  God,  trust  and  love.  In  describing  the  prin- 
ciple of  faith,  the  youth  is  led  to  enumerate  the  thir- 
teen creeds  of  Maimonides,  being  frequently  interrupted 
by  the  teacher,  thereby  eliciting  further  explanation  and 
elaboration.  Trust  in  God  is  the  next  point  discussed, 
which  is  made  to  include  divine  providence,  God's  kirrd- 
fiess  to  all  creatures  and,  as  a  corollary,  the  doctrine  of 
prayer.  Love  of  God  and  love  of  all  his  creatures  are 
then  made  the  'basis  for  the  whole  Law.  There  are  seven 
deadlv  sins  which  men  must  shun — idleness,  pride,  glut- 
tony, sensuality,  anger,  stinginess  and  jealousy,  all  of 
which  have  their  corresponding  virtues.  After  enumer- 
ating several  other  sins  that  are  hateful  to  God  and 
summarizing  the  whole  system  as  laid  down,  the  teach- 
er asks  the  pupil  what  diflference  there  is  in  the  knowl- 
edge one  has  of  these  matters  from  tradition,  as  he  has 
it,  and  the  knowledge  which  one  obtains  hy  reason- 
ing these  things  out  for  himself.  To  this  the  pupil  re- 
plies that  while  the  ditTerence  is  not  apparent  to  him, 
still  he  thinks  that  it  would  be  more  satisfactory 
if  the  teacher  were  to  explain  to  him  these  principles  so 
that  his  belief  might  be  strengthened  thereby.  The 
teacher  is  very  much  pleased  with  the  answer  and  gives 
him  a  lengthv  discourse  on  proper  religious  and  moral 
conduct,  with  which  the  book  concludes. 

While  it  is  evident  that  our  author  modelled  his 
work  after  the  Catholic  catechisms  current  in  Italy  in 
his  time,  the  Jewishness  of  the  book  is  made  con- 
spicuous on  every  page.  The  frequent  resort  Jagel  has 
to  quotations  from  Bible  and  Talmud,  the  skillful  turn 
he  gives  to  anything  distinctly  Christian  into  a  charac- 
teristic Jewish  belief  or  dogma,  made  his  book  accept- 
able to  the  Jews,  who,  for  the  most  part  were  unac- 
quainted with  his  models.     In  defining  the  principle  of 

11 


faith,  Jagel  adopts  almost  the  same  wording  as  used  in 
the  catechism  of  Canisius,  but  while  the  latter  follows 
this  up  with  an  enumeration  of  the  twelve  apostolic 
creeds,  the  former  puts  in  the  mouth  of  the  pupil  the 
thirteen  creeds  of  Maimonides.  In  accordance  with  the 
Talmudic  decision  (Berachot  12a)  not  to  recite  the  Ten 
Commandments  in  connection  with  the  reading  of  the 
Shema  during  service,  so  that  the  heretics  should  not 
say  that  these  only  were  given  by  God,  Jagel  omits  the 
enumeration  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  which  is 
found  in  the  Canisian  catechism.  The  idea  of  placing 
the  whole  religion  on  the  three  principles  of  faith,  trust 
and  love,  including  love  of  God  and  love  of  man,  is  not 
distinctly  Jewish,  although  in  consonance  with  Jewish 
teaching.  The  elaboration  of  the  seven  cardinal  sins, 
the  six  other  sins  "that  God  hates"  and  the  four  sins 
"that  cry  out  for  vengeance,"  with  their  corresponding 
virtues,  would  never  occur  to  a  Jew,  uninfluenced  by 
other  teachings,  who  wished  to  formulate  a  text-book  of 
religion  for  the  Jewish  youth.  Jagel's  little  book  was 
accorded  a  warm  welcome  by  Jews,  who  regarded  it  as 
an  excellent  compendium  of  Musar,  one  of  the  many 
religio-ethical  treatises  that  appeared  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages.  Isaiah  Horowitz,  Jagel's  contemporary, 
quotes  lengthy  passages  from  the  Lekah  Tob  in  his 
great  work  (Shene  Luhot  ha-Berit).  Several  Latin 
translations  of  the  work  have  appeared,  others  are  still 
in  manuscript,  and  the  first  Yiddish  translation  was  pub- 
lished in  Amsterdam,  in  1658,  only  half  a  century  after 
the  publication  of  the  original,  and  an  English  translation 
(London,  1721)  also  exists.  The  book  was  very  popu- 
lar, but  it  also  failed  in  its  purposd  to  become  a  manual 
for  the  young,  as  did  its  forerunner  the  Hinuch.  What 
the  Spanish  author,  inspired  ty  a  truly  Jewish  concep- 
tion of  religion  and  writing  his  work  in  the  spirit  of 
Jewish  training  and  practice,  could  not  accomplish,  the 
Italian  Jew,  endeavoring  to  introduce  a  foreign  system 
and  following  a  foreign  model,  could  never  hope  to  ac- 
complish. The  Jewish  method  of  instruction,  as  fol- 
lowed until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  had  no 
need  for  catechisms. 

The  famous  Latin  maxim*  that  "books  have  their  own 
fates."  or  the  bolder  rabbinic  assertion  that  even  the 
scroll  of  the  law  which  is  deposited  in  the  ark  is  sub- 
ject to  the  whims  of  fortune,  still  holds  true.  Aaron 
Halevi's  Hinuch  has  for  a  long  time  been  classed  among 
Halachic  books,  Abraham  Jagel's  Lekah  Tob  found  its 
place  in  Jewish  literature  in  the  catalogue  of  Musar 
hooks,  while  the  large  nuiuber  of  Jewish  catechisms  pro- 
duced in  Germany  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  fashioned  after  the  books  of  that  nature  in  use 
in  the  Protestant  Church,  are  now  almost  entirely  forgot- 
ten, known  only  to  the  lyibliographer  or  antiquarian. 
The  course  of  Jewish  education  has  changed  during  the 
past  century,  together  with  the  great  many  other  changes 
in  the  economic,  political  and  social  life  of  the  Jew. 
Jewish  life  has  become  more  complex,  and  in  order  to 

12 


prepare  the  youth  for  that  complex  life,  great  economy 
of  time  and  energy  must  be  employed,  sound  judgment 
must  be  exercised  in  preparing  a  course  for  his  religious 
training.  The  best  that  we  may  expect  to  accomplish 
with  the  average  Jewish  child  at  present  in  the  short  time 
that  we  snatch  for  his  religious  instruction  is  to  direct 
him  to  assume  a  correct  attitude  toward  his  religion  and 
his  history.  We  cannot  expect  any  more  to  make  of 
our  children  specialists  in  Talmudic  lore,  which  was  the 
aim  and  cherished  hope  of  every  Jewish  parent  in  the 
bringing  up  of  his  child,  when  Jewish  law  was  the  basis 
of  instruction,  the  Talmud  and  the  codes  the  text-l)ooks. 
But  to  shift  the  emphasis  fromt  law  to  dogma  is  against 
the  spirit  of  Jewish  tradition  and  Jewish  culture,  it  is 
foreign  to  the  whole  fabric  of  Judaism,  which  is  primarily 
a  historic  religion,  relying  on  practice  and  observance 
as  the  best  means  for  its  continued  preservation.  R. 
Jacob  Mollin,  a  German  rabbi  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
strongly  objected  to  the  translation  into  German  verse 
of  the  thirteen  creeds,  'because,  he  says,  these  include  on- 
ly the  main  elements  of  the  Jewish  religion,  but  none  of 
the  numerous  practical  laws  which  Israel  is  commanded 
to  observe.  The  point  of  emphasis  in  modern  religious 
instruction  should  be  made  the  historic  value  of  custom 
and  creed,  practice  and  belief,  rather  than  creeds  and 
beliefs  in  the  abstract.  An  observance  or  a  dogma  is 
Jewish,  not  merely  because  it  is  found  in  Bible  and  Tal- 
mud, but  also  because  it  was  observed  and  followed  by 
Jews  for  many  centuries  under  various  conditions.  The 
Jewish  child  should  'be  impregnated  with  a  strong  Jew- 
ish historic  consciousness,  he  should  be  made  to  feel  the 
intimate  relation  that  exists  between  himself  and  all  the 
generations  that  preceded  him  and  all  that  will  come 
after  him,  he  should  be  made  to  see  clearly  and  constant- 
ly the  hand  of  God  in  Jewish  history,  the  special  Provi- 
dence that  guided  Israel  throughout  the  many  centuries 
of  its  existence.  Laws  and  ceremonies  should  be  pre- 
sented to  himi  not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  their  in- 
trinsic religious  or  national  value,  but  also  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  increased  significance  each  one  as- 
sumed through  its  constant  observance  by  generations  of 
his  own  ancestors,  the  added  meaning  given  to  each  one 
by  the  memories  of  sufferings  or  triumphs  clustering 
aroimd  them.  The  child  will  thereby  be  imbued  with  a 
deep  love  for  his  religion,  its  dogmas  and  practices,  with 
a  broad  sympathy  for  the  lives  and  conduct  of  his  an- 
cestors and  with  a  strong  Jewish  consciousness  that  will 
protect  him  against  all  the  temptations  that  the  outside 
world  might  offer  him.  A  text-book,  in  which  laws  and 
creeds  are  properly  treated  and  the  historic  tasis  and 
growth  of  each  frlly  emphasized,  is  the  manual  that  is 
needed  in  the  religious  instruction  of  the  modern  Jew- 
ish youth. 

13 


APPENDIX 


The  following  poem  is  a  copy  of  a  manuscript 
pasted  in  a  copy  of  the  Hinuch,  which  is  now  in  my 
possession.  It  is  written  in  a  cursive  Italian  script, 
but  perfectly  legible.  The  edge,  where  probably  the 
name  of  the  author  is  given,  is  cut  off  with  a  pair  of 
scissors,  so  as  to  make  it  fit  in  the  book.  The  poem 
presents  many  points  of  interest.  The  style  is  la- 
bored in  several  instances,  although  as  a  whole  ft  is  a 
fair  specimen  of  the  neo-Hebrew  poetry  of  that  age. 

I  am  indebted  for  the  English  rendering  of  the 
poem  to  Mr.  C.  David  Matt.  The  translator  had  a 
difficult  task  before  him,  which  he  accomplished  ad- 
mirably well. 


lU'nn  lED  D11D2  '^\r2■;b^  ■mtj''?  mr^Ti  m'ty 

.'7^bii  c'lni  T't  n"spnn  njty 

.»« 

1BTB'  lypn  "na:  inpn  ^nw 

irsja  DVD  -"iJ'nn  nsD  7ir 

ion  mcnn  ms'  pn's  ^^'T^; 

-iBDO  j"nn  msa  -noty  v'^j; 

— Snp 

iB"3^n  D2itao  nity  dns  did 

icon  12  N7  nro  omo'^n  nx 

.3 

D^«  ^3  ^N  Tn"?  pino  ns' 

mnj  niH'  ''3  32*  1^3  t;3 

niM«3i  i3in  DT  DT  mjn'? 

— "rnp 

in*?:;  ^13'  ^2  TS  onr  tcni 

ima'K  nmn  -nsj'    ",no",y?i 

.J 

n-iso  ^331  pes:  im  ctrss 

nms  TNO  mmo  a3r  nx 

nny3u  nx  3 '3D  D's-o  notr 

mnn  ]z  '3  n'h  lyj*?  ii:'n 

-'•np 

D'JTN   rjin  noN^  noy  nt,p 

D'oij'n  "tn  m'jp  im  ]2  '3 

T3D   "73   b»   Htt'iy   TJTtf   HN 

I'DH  '0^1  inri  mpa3  n'^ 

}'Ep03  nr  in  'tn  ino  J*?!! 

]ij3  inp  n:ip  pay  'E31 

— Snp 

in33  12"   "nNi  "iTin  •^''-in 

:im;  I3rr3  tno  33id  33id 

.n 

Kipi  iij'n  1BC  T::p^   n"?  »n 

]v'7j;  mvo  np'"?  ri"^'    «^   "3 

lincK  nn   T*?!?  n33'   tn 

nmn  mso  '7i3tr'   i'3'   »n''3 

— '•np 

TliKH   D3'n3   n«    NIB'K    13   DK 

:n»uj;n  n  "^3  nx  D3nDtr:'7i 
14 


-i:iiN  nm'ii  ay  -nDio':'   '"r  no 

-lu  '7  ^ri^^':'  man':'  i';'  no 

pr2t3D   iiota'?   'minD7   Dipo 

— '7np 

.T 

ipnn   ipin   Di".'?n  nn^tro 

D'OT  '^iz  on   ':Tj;;r2  niinti* 

ipc"   nno  D'B'N   nty    k7 

— ':'np 

nj'Nin  DD'j'j?  "iiNiti"   t'Mp^ 
.n 

D-n'?iyB3    K'l?    D3'313tJ'n 

Di;  Djnon   'o  3t;in   irnn 

nrny  iin  ic'i'D  nn;;  ^oip 

—Sip 

ijim'jj  Tin  Dmir3C'3  niso 

iJN^o  N*?  'jy  d;!  D'^trnj  t.t 

tiyo   ]-\p  Dy   imc'i'?  n3in 

— '^np 

in'   by  nin  in:n  mvo  mja 

.n"3  ^^:n  ^ti'sj 


A  Joyous  Song  Chanted  at  the  Completion  of 
the  Study  of  the  Book  "Hinuch,"  at  the  Yeshibah 
Beruche  El  (God's  Blest)  in  the  city  of  Ferrara,  who 
studied  the  book  every  Sabbath.  This  took  place  on 
Sabbath  Nizzabim,  the  27th  day  of  the  Month  of 
Ehd,  in  the  year  5588  (1828). 

I. 

Come,    take   the   liarp   with  me   and   sound   the   horn 
This  dn.v.    the  booli   "Hiniicli"  completed   is. 
And    lilve    the    palm,    throiich    it    the    pious    bloom 
And  of   the  precepts  fill    the   allotted   tale   (613). 
Chorus 

Invested    shall    .ve    be   of    their    reward 

Ere    close    of    year.^ — cease    not    from    study    now. 

II. 

O    friends,    mark    well    the    virtues    of    the    book,— 
And    who   the    man    that    would    not    relish   it? 
Let    adolescent    youth    nor    eraybeard.    lag 
Daily    to    pore    o'er    treasures    there    contained. 
Chorus. 

His  head    as   precious   gold,    unwithered    was 
His   leaf.— for   him    the    Law    holds    guard. 

III. 
Replete    with    precepts   it   decides   the    Law's 
Involved    decree. — aglow    with    moral    liglit 
(Eacli    cliaptiT    bears    the    designating    name) 
In    truth   designed    for   youth's   enlightenment. 
Chorus 

Hark  how   It  calls:      "Incline  your  ears. 

The   wa.v  is  mine   to   win    the  bliss  of   Heaven." 

IV. 
Each   mandate    bears    its    numbered    sign.     Unto 
Its   source    it    may   be   traced;    the   student   may 
I'ass    hastilv    from    topic    unto    topic 
And   let   the  knowledge  gained  accord   with   each. 
Chorus 

Who    cons    the    book    shall    found    his    dwelling    firm 
And    his   abode    be    lustrous   round    about. 


V. 

The   book   called    "Hinuch"    wlio  would   not   acquire? 
\\  ho   'd   not   stiivp   for   llie   niandaies  of   the   Lord? 
Or   who   could    rear   on    it    his   canopv. 
Except    he    fathom    well    the    Law's'   behest? 
Chorus 

Then   let  your  dwelling   be   illumined   bright 
And   crown   your   soul    with   diadem    of   Law. 

VL 
What  matter   that   the   merchant   hoard   his  coin? 
What   matter  that   the  agent   masses   wealth? 
What    if   the    dealer   store    his    varied    wares 
Until    the    filling    coffers   overflow? 
Chorus 

All    these   they   leave   behind. — and   in   the   grave 

•  Their  name    is   but    reproach  for   evil   deeds. 

VII. 
Sustain    the    Levite's    hand    with    fond    embrace. — 
With    them    the    Eternal's    precepts    e'er    abide, — 
Whose   root   is   in   the   Almighty's   hidden   realm 

•  And  nourish   without  fail   their  devotees. 
Chorus 

Would   .you   set   eyes  on   Israel's   Holy   One? 
Then   on   your  teacher  gaze   with   reverent   look. 

VIII. 
Of  your  achievements,   be   your   leckoniug. 
If   they   indeed   complete    the   needed    tale. 
And   if   there    be    aught    lacking     whence   the   cause? 
Arise,  and  mend :  go  rear  the  warding  hedge. 
Chorus 

In   exile   when   commandments   are   obeyed 
E'en   those   yet   unfulfilled    bring   their  reward. 

IX. 
They  are  to  us  a  shielding  tower  of  strength, — 

•  As  silver-covered   wings  unto  the  dove — . 

No    hate    shall    wreak    'gainst    them,    but    its    own    ha 
Be   maimed,    and   Jeshurun   gain    new   might. 
Chorus 

The    sages'    seven    precepts    well    observed 

Will  make  the  crown  (620)  of  mandates  all  complete.^ 

.May  my  soul  rejoice  in  the   Lord. 

*  The  Hebrew  text  Is  ambiguous  here. 


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